British bride misses dream Portugal honeymoon due to passport detail

New Zealanders can also be caught out by this passport rule when travelling abroad. Photo / 123rf

A bride missed her dream honeymoon in Portugal after an airline refused to let her fly with a passport that expired in three months.

Shanice Budd-Smith said she attempted to board the flight to Portugal with her new husband last weekend.

However, she was told her passport was invalid as it expired on August 10 and that she would be deported after arriving in Portugal.

Portugal requires British tourists' passports to be valid for three months after their return flight back to the UK. This meant the bride missed out by 13 days.

Unable to board, the couple returned home and had a Sunday roast at a pub with family.

"I had been so looking forward to our honeymoon and now it is ruined," she told the Sun.

The couple, who work as posties for Royal Mail got married at a seaside hotel on Hayling Island, off the south coast of England, two days before their flight.

After flying to Portugal, they had booked four nights at the Jupiter Algarve Hotel for £600 (NZ$1165), through easyJet Holidays.

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The airline reportedly refused to refund the holiday or change the dates.

Shanice said she was completely unaware of the three-month expiry rule and believed the date of expiry on her passport indicated when she needed to renew it.

After hearing the news at the airport, she couldn't stop crying to the stoic airport staff.

"I told this woman: 'are you telling me I can't go on my honeymoon?' I couldn't stop crying," she said.

"She showed no remorse whatsoever, I felt humiliated."

EasyJet said they were sorry the couple were unable to travel but they would have been reminded to check their passport expiry dates throughout the booking process.

"It's really important that customers check that their passport is valid for their holiday and meets the criteria for their destination," said a spokesperson. "which is why we remind our customers of this throughout their booking process and in the emails they receive leading up to their departure."

Passport Expiry Rules to enter New Zealand

To enter New Zealand, people must have a valid passport/travel document, including New Zealand and Australian citizens.

What constitutes 'valid' in terms of the expiry date, depends on whether you are a visitor or not.

New Zealand / Australia Permanent Residents
You need a passport that is valid for enough time to travel to New Zealand.

"The passport must be valid on the date you are entering/leaving New Zealand," states New Zealand Immigration.

Visitors (including students and workers)
You must have a passport with an expiry date that is at least 3 months after the date you depart New Zealand.

However, if the issuing government has consular representation in New Zealand and can issue or renew travel documents, then your passport can have an expiry date that is one month beyond the date you intend to depart.

Like New Zealand, many countries around the world will only allow travellers to visit on passports that have several months to go before expiring, so it's worth checking before travel.